Joe on utepia | The place for commentary for UTEP athletics

Floyd won't go to So. Miss

Tim Floyd as a viable candidate for the Southern Miss basketball job is even less likely than Floyd having been the top pick at LSU a few weeks ago.

Yes, Floyd would be going back home at Southern Miss.

However, I don't think he'd want to replace Coach Larry Eustachy. Eustachy coached with Floyd at Iowa State. They are close friends.

Plus I think UTEP is the better job.

And Floyd is building an NCAA-caliber team here, maybe even for next season. He's got some talent coming in  next season that's up a notch from the usual UTEP fare.

This whole Floyd and Southern Miss deal came up on an ESPN blog. It's not a report, it's just naming some logical choices for the job. It happens all the time in sportswriting. It's what sports is all about — the fun of trying to figure out what will happen.

Floyd and LSU. He's a Southerner. Add him to the list.

Floyd and Southern Miss. That's where he's from. Add him to the list.

If Floyd leaves UTEP sometime, it will be for a better job than Southern Miss.

Floyd not LSU candidate?

It doesn't appear UTEP Basketball Coach Tim Floyd has been in the mix to replace Trent Johnson as LSU's coach.

Most think the school is going after other big names, including Minnesota's Tubby Smith, Sacramento Kings assistant Reggie Theus and Harvard's Tommy Amaker.

It's not dumb to add Floyd to that mix. He's from the Deep South (Mississippi), was popular as coach at the University of New Orleans early in his career, and has coached the NBA's New Orleans Hornets.

But these are the type of situations that change by the hour.

All-black Kentucky, etc ...

Three  points.

1) Some have taken notice that Kentucky started an all-black lineup against Kansas Monday and won this year's NCAA basketball championship.

In 1966, with an all-black starting lineup, UTEP beat all-white Kentucky for the same title.

2) Is UTEP the only school in the country that has so many linemen hurt during both spring- and pre-season drills. Can't even have a real spring game!

3) What ever happened to El Paso interests buying the Padres' Triple-A team and moving it to El Paso (if El Paso agrees to build a ballpark)?

I've noted some hesitation on the part of the city to give up the City Hall building, which is the plot of land that Paul Foster and the Hunt family say they want (require) for the ballpark.

One blurb I noted was that some in the Padres' organization may prefer their Triple-A team to play in heavier air — Boise, Idaho, or Vancouver. Southwest air gives batters a false sense of power, and San Diego's Petco Park is not conducive to hitting the long ball. Just a thought by some.